The And
by notmykotoba
Summary: A story about an ending that ended nothing, a despair that made way for hope , and a love that rose from the ashes of nothingness. Told in a series of drabbles, eventual Kaishin. (In happier terms, Shinichi rides a bike with Kaito as his permanent passenger, and Hibara, in a car driving alongside the two, laughs and records it all.) Updates scheduled to return mid-June '14. Sorry!
1. Chapter 1

No character death, although you'll be dealing with a very lost Conan/Shinichi. I promise an eventual happy ending, but it'll take a while. This is a series of drabbles, each told in probably 300 words or less.

A story about an ending that ended nothing, a despair that made way for hope , and a love that rose from the ashes of nothingness.

Disclaimers: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito. I do, however, own the low-level thinking that went into the production of this AU and, perhaps just a little bit more. Eventual Kaito &amp; Shinichi, Hakuba &amp; Ran, Heiji &amp; Hazuha, etc. I'll announce more when other characters mingle more and pairings become more apparent.

Also, I do own the cover image - it's one of my old doodles.

* * *

White. And quiet.

Kudo Shinichi, trapped in the body of a seven-year-old, lay down on the snow and watched the contrast of white snow against the dark sky. It was early Christmas morning, and even the birds would not be awake for a few more hours, yet here he was, alone in the courtyard of his house (-_all empty and clean and _sterile-) and probably one of the handful of people awake in the neighborhood.

He had been having trouble sleeping and Kogoro's snores and body odor that reeked of beer made the room nauseating, so he snuck out and wandered, until his feet took him to his house.

Yet the quietness of his surroundings only made him uneasy, his thoughts echoing in ways that made him feel more tired than before. He quickly stood up(-_a bit dizzy, haven't been eating well, I wonder why-_), closed his gate quietly behind him, and began walking, letting his feet take him to his destination.

(-_only death awaits you boy-_)

Shinichi walked faster and ignored the heavy pounding of his heart.

(-_blood, so much blood_-)

Breathes came quicker.

(-_do you ever look at your hands, do you see the blood-_)

His throat tightened, and he bit back a sob.

(-_shot, she was _shot-)

Running,

(-_wasn't a wig, dried blood—different color-_)

running,

(-_the line straightened_-)

running.

(-_beeeep…-_)

A hand grabbed his shoulder and roughly yanked him away from the oncoming car.

(-_"…why…why are you…"_-)

"…_running_?" hissed a voice from behind him.

* * *

Sorry, I haven't done this type of writing in a while, so the beginning may sound stilted and strange. Also, not beta-ed, so if you could kick me in the shin and tell me where I went wrong, I'd appreciate it.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimers: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito.

* * *

Red. Black. Indistinguishable.

The tower glowed softly in the darkness, and Conan looked pointedly at the red pillar (-_red and long, just like a blood-soaked knife that pierced through the earth_-), hoping to delay the onslaught of glares and scolding that was sure to come.

From the corner of his eye, Conan watched as a pair of gloved hands skillfully poured a cup of hot chocolate and the person with said hands wordlessly handed him the drink. The shrunk teenager murmured a quiet _thanks_ and watched detachedly as the white steam from the drink became one with the air from his lungs and a fleeting thought – _drugged?_ – evaporated and Conan mentally saluted the moon. _To the holidays_.

He swallowed, and sighed contently as the chocolate warmed him from the inside and brought a dusting of pink across his cheeks. His companion, apparently satisfied with that, sipped his own cup of hot chocolate, and waited.

Conan grimaced slightly and offered, "I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk."

"Mmm, right onto the path of incoming traffic."

"…Lost in my thoughts?"

Midnight blue eyes, a shade darker than Conan's own, glanced sharply at him and on the ground, the smaller shadow twitched and angled slightly away from the larger shadow.

A sigh, and Conan turned curiously towards the thief, surprised by the lack of accusations and reprimanding. Kid held up the thermos of chocolate, refilled Conan's – _surprisingly_ – empty cup, and poured himself another cup of the warm drink.

"Whenever you're ready, Tantei-kun."

* * *

Not beta'd. Also, I'll be using "Kid" and not "KID."

As for the update schedule, I'm going to tentatively say that there should be, at the least, one chapter per week. Not sure how many chapters there will be, because that's up to the characters to decide.

Thanks for giving this another shot, and again, feel free to constructively criticize me as heavily as you can in a review or message.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito.

* * *

The silence stretched on, until he whispered, "It hasn't ended."

For Kudo Shinchi, currently Edogawa Conan, and many others who were deeply involved with the "Sweep of the Crow's Nest," as the newspapers had named, were still struggling with the trauma that followed the undercover assignment. Two months later, Conan still has doubts about orchestrating the mission because of what they lost.

To the public, Kudo Shinichi was still under a coma in a private location, and secretly, Conan rather wished he _could_ be in a coma; he wouldn't have to deal with all of this.

Kid had to understand, because Conan wasn't going to say anymore. _And he probably does_, thought Conan. _Nothing is ever over; we simply live on with it_.

Problem, Conan wasn't sure if he could stand it anymore. He and others fought hard, and they won… but was it all worth it?

Kudo Shinichi wasn't in a coma, but Haibara Ai was.

Ever since Haibara was announced to be in a coma, Conan hated life with a passion. Nothing is ever fair, and he despises that the natural order must constantly remind him of that fact through his beloved friends.

Two months after the event, Haibara still hasn't woken up yet. And Shinichi's hands haven't stopped shaking.

Kid and Conan were quiet for the rest of the night, both too tired to voice the heavy thoughts that still sat on their shoulders.

It wasn't over.

* * *

If you're confused, you should've seen me when I first found my old notes while studying for a biology midterm.

I'm really sorry I left this alone for so long, though it was never far from my mind. I just couldn't figure out how to organize the raid on the B.O., and yes, it was a huge author's block, along with taking on more responsibilities than I could handle. Also, my new outline is _completely_ different from my old one, so yeah.

I can't promise a regular schedule, but I'm going to try to finish this, because I've finally got a good idea of how I want this to go.

It's a rather slow fic by the way, I don't plan to even make them _friend_ for a year or so (plot-wise! Not actual years, dear god!).

Now, onto the big question: what exactly happened two months ago?


End file.
